The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, 61, informed members of the ruling family on Monday of his decision to hand power to Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim, the Qatari-owned television channel Al Jazeera said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel put her cards on the table on Monday, maintaining her tough stance on austerity for debt-ridden euro zone nations in an election manifesto that could be at the center of EU policy for the next five years.

housands of workers and unemployed people marched in Rome on Saturday to protest against record unemployment and call on Enrico Letta's two-month-old government to deliver more than empty rhetoric on the issue.

Mediobanca, under pressure to improve returns for shareholders, plans to sell almost all of its stakes in major companies, ending half a century of influence at the heart of Italian business to focus on banking.